Bit-Beast
As they are represented in media, Bit-Beasts (聖獣, Seijū: "sacred beast") are the mystical entities that inhibit the Bit Chips and Bit Protectors of a Beyblade. Occasionally referred to as Sacred Beasts, Bit-Beasts were featured in the "Beyblade", "Beyblade: V-Force and "Beyblade: G-Revolution" animes, as well as the "Beyblade" manga, various video games and the Beyblade Trading Card Game. Information Blader/Beyblade Many of the these ideals were not correctly portrayed in the English or world wide released dubbed, and the true overall representation of a "Bit-beast" was lost in translation. This lead to the interpretation by overseas fans often being gravely misunderstood. This is partly owed to the English dub driving home the idea of the Bit-Beasts being "Trapped" inside the Beyblade. The Bit-beat or "Saint Beasts" overall represented the joint "Fighting Spirit" of Blader and Beyblade (in other words it is an "avatar"). If the Beyblader proved their worth, the ancient Fighting Spirit would be drawn to them. That spirit then would reside within the Beyblade out of its own free will. Once the joint relationship of Blader and Beyblade was established, they would appear thereafter in any new Beyblade they used. When the fighting spirit was strong, the Bit-Beast's spirit would influence the Beyblade, enhancing attack and signature moves. As demonstrated by Kai when he choose Dranzer's bit over Black Dranzer's, sacrificing one's soul for power can cost the Blader their soul. However, choosing one's heart over power can infuse a weaker Bit-beast with splendour the two have never demonstrated prior, even if the blader is doomed to lose the battle anyway. By unleashing them, the flow of a battle can shift dramatically even when the Beyblade parts haven't changed. It also expands the range of strategic possibilities. Because they represent the link between Blader and Beyblade, they are effected by a Blader's emotions and state of mind, mental distraction or physical conditions such as tiredness can impact them and effect the Beyblade in return, so focus is required to maintain the fighting spirit. Any distractions can lead to a disconnection between the fighting spirit and its blader/beyblader. When a Blader lost their Bit-beast, the blader would have their own fighting spirit impacted, which is why many bladers had periods of doubt after losing theirs. Bit-beasts were also not equal in size and strength because of their reliance on the Fighting spirit of the blader. Bit-beasts can appear dominating in size when facing a lesser union of Blade and Blader; Dragoon was originally dwarfed by the giant Griffolyon bit-beast when the pair first met due to Robert Jürgens' superior fighting spirit. They are influenced also by their beyblades properties. When facing Lupinex, Ray also had placed a silver dollar over his bit, causing Driger to take on a silver-based property which allowed him to fight against Lupinex's bit-beast who was based on a werewolf. Origins Bit-Beasts are sacred fighting spirits and their essence is locked in ancient monuments throughout the world. Most remain inert, unable to be reawakened. Many researchers attempted to understand the origins of these fighting spirits that had lent their power over history to mankind and groups like the BBA and PPB jointly studied their influence on a Blader and Beyblade. Bit Beasts may not only be sealed inside a Beyblade for that reason. Dragoon was originally inside a sword before entering Tyson's Beyblade and becoming his Bit-Beast. Draciel was also found within a locket, said to have a "protective spirit" on it. In short, the Beylade was the modern means to access an ancient spirit that had previously manifested in other implements. In fact a number of them were passed from generation to generation as a younger Blader bestowed the honour of wielding the Bit, as was the cause of Driger to Ray over Lee, as well as the Bits of the Majestics. As most Bladers lacked the fighting spirit of a sacred beast, attempts were seen in the anime to manufacture them. This was seen with the Team Psykick "Cyber series" beasts, then later the re-discover of the ancient fighting spirits that were seen used by Team Zagart. Stealing them was also another option as seen with Kai and Black Dranzer, as the thief then had access to another's fighting spirit, along with the benefits of that fighting spirit. The largest collection of Bit-Beasts found contained the spirits of hundreds of Beast and was found by Dr. Zagart's team in a seemingly unremarkable rock. The two most powerful of these beasts were Kerberous and Orthros. Due to the age of these spirits and the forced removal from the rock, they were unable to fully form a bond between themselves, the Beyblade and Blader. Their full essence was often not present in the rock, thus even though they could be used they had long lost their full power. The vast majority disappeared after a single defeat, their bit-chips often breaking due to their weak bond to their blades. Only Kerberous remained at the series end, being the only one whose essence was fully present and extracted within the rock to begin with. Of the Bit-beasts, the 4 considered the potentially most dangerous are the series 4 main bit-beast Driger, Dragoon, Dranzer and Draciel. This bit-beasts are 4 of the oldest and have a long history of both good and bad usage. The 4 together have the potential to destroy the world due to their combined power and in the wrong hands are considered highly dangerous. This is why several teams chased after these 4 specifically and why there were attempts to even create copies of them (the "Cyber series") in an attempt to use the fakes to capture the real versions. In the manga they were also said to bring back the dead while in the anime, turn a non-living person into a real person, which was the goal of Dr. Zagart. General They come in a variety of different forms from modern beast to ancient. When Draciel was first placed in Max's Beyblade, the other Bit-beasts sensed the new powerful fighting spirit of Max and his Draciel. Dragoon has also been shown to be able to talk. Indicating they do have the ability to sense the presence of each other at times as well and that Bit Beasts seem to be sentient. Even if called to battle a Bit-Beast may refuse to appear or attack, as Dragoon once did to Tyson in Beyblade: V-Force - Episode 03, making it clear that it is their choice to appear in the first place. The only exception is if the Bit-beast was stolen, in which case they were forced to appear as they were essentially slaves to their captor. It seems that some Bit Beasts care about the bladers. Tyson's first battle with Enrique resulted in Amphilyon trying to attack Tyson, causing Dragoon to respond by getting in the way. The willingness to protect their blader at all cost was also shown during Ray's battle against Bryan in the World Finals, when Driger put his existence on line to save Ray who had been badly injured by Falborg's attacks. In return for their power, they demand respect from their masters and are capable of showing anger if a Blader disrespects them. Amhilyon also did not like it when Enrique disrespected it and threatened to break its chip and even turned on its master. When Kai initially chose Black Dranzer over Dranzer, he tossed the Dranzer beyblade at Tyson. Later when Tyson was defeated by Black Dranzer, Tyson realized he still had one more blade to use; Dranzer. Dranzer, commanded by Tyson, proceeded to attack Black Dranzer, furious at Kai for abandoning him and infused with Tyson's own anger at Kai for abandoning his team. The two's joint fury allowed them to defeat Black Dranzer, despite Dranzer supposing to be the weaker bit-beast and blade. On top of this, though it was known by Bladers that they had fighting spirits between them, the majority of the general audience could not see the Bit-beasts, as demonstrated by Hilary Tachibana. To these on looking who cannot see the spirits of the Beyblades, the Beyblades in question simply looked like they were behaving erratically during the events that the Bit-beasts were being used. As demonstrated by Ozuma and the rest of the Saint Shields, bit-beasts sometimes could not even be seen by other bladers. In the Japanese version, all bit-beasts are referred to using genderless pronouns, which usually translates to it. They were officially genderless a they are "spirits". However, overseas translations have often assigned gendered pronouns to the Bit Beasts, such as Dragoon being referred to with male pronouns like "he". Developement thumb|right|[[Ultimate Saizo Beyblade, whose bit-beast is from Jisedai Begoma Battle Beyblade, featuring a protector saving its precious bit from destruction]] The bit beasts went through a series of development stages and were originally much different to what many fans came to know. The original intention of the bit featuring a beast was that it was another way to win Beyblade in real life battles. By successfully managing to knock off or destroy the "bit-chip" on a beyblade, the player would instantly win, regardless of the outcome of the two beyblades battle due to the high points awarded for doing this. Since the bit-chip was placed on top of the Beylade, it was a difficult task, as the only time it could occur is if the beyblade leaned to the side while the other Beyblade remained upright. Bit-chip protectors were later supplied as players didn't always enjoy seeing their bit-chips destroyed, spare bit-chips were also supplied often with Beyblades as a stand in for the main chip. Jisedai Bēgoma Battle Beyblade (1999) In the original Jisedai Bēgoma Battle Beyblade video game released in 1999, bit-beast first appeared. Several even would evolve and change much like the monsters of the Pokémon games, which was not a surprise as many aspects of the game were directly inspired by the Pokémon games. Each bit beast had its own unique attack and would affect the way the player fought in the arena (such as leaving a giant hole directly in the center of the disk creating a instant death zone for any Beyblade who fell in). This game shows many early beyblade ideas in prototype form. While certain concepts survived to the main series, none of the bit beasts seen survived. Some features would be carried over into future parts of the franchise, even if small. For example, Kai's "Dranzer" and Tyson's "Dragoon" get their names from Spin Dragoon and Ultimate Frostic Dranzer. Both appear in Jisedai Begoma Battle Beyblade. Both are the final metamorphosis of their "signature" bits of the game (while Kai's is a set as part of his team, Tyson's bit, however is optional). For the most part, the bit-beast system was later reworked to make it far less complex and less Pokémon-like in all future aspects of the Franchise. Beyblade Fighting Tournament (late 1999 - mid 2000) thumb|right|[[Bearing Stinger, featuring the "Metal series" Dragoon "Metal Dragoon" on its bit-bhip]] In Beyblade Fighting Tournament (2000) they were more closer to the final bit beast styles as seen in the series. They were divided into a series ("Kid", "Knight", "Dark", "Master", "Thunder", etc) and would appear as one of 4 archetypes (Dranzer, Driger, Draceil or Dragoon). At the start of the game, the player entered a code. If the code was correct, they would have one of the 4 archetypes. Each series was released in the games shop. Over the course of the game, stronger bits would be released of their selected choice as they won each tournament. At first, this kind of introduction to bit beasts is briefly touched upon in the manga, with the bladers bits upgrading and changing in the very early chapters on a few occasions. In relation to the game, during this period all bit-chips had codes on them, such as Driger's "GER4", which allowed that bit to be unlocked. Bit-beasts often were found on Beyblades that didn't bare resemblance to their name, with exceptions of the original "Driger", "Dragoon", "Dranzer" and "Draciel", whose Beyblades always bore their bit-beasts name. Bakuten Shoot Beyblade (late 2000-2003) right|thumb|[[Galeon Attacker featuring the bit-chip "Galeon", and the start of Bakuten Shoot Beyblades Bit-beast as they came to be known as]] Bakuten Shoot Beyblade marks the start of the bit-beasts as many came to know them. Carrying on with the 4 main bit-beasts of Dranzer, Dragoon, Draciel and Driger, more diversity was added to further parts of the franchise. The newer bit-beasts were based on a wide of variety of animals, often from myth and legend. This gave Bladers and their blades more self-identity. When the Bakuten Shoot Beyblade video game (2001) was released, the manga had already began production. The TV series was also released by the time the game had came out. Bit beasts were more closely related to their status as seen in the anime and later manga. The focus this time was just on Daichi's bit-beast. Since Daichi had no canon bit at this point, he was given a substitution. He started out as a Kid Dragoon and over the course of the game would upgrade as he won tournaments up to the American tournament, as this was how far the manga had reached. At this point, he had a cyborg-looking Dragoon. This Dragoon also appeared in Bakuten Shoot Beyblade 2002 Team Battle! Kiryū no Akira Daichi / Takao Hen, although that was the last appearance as Strata Dragon debuted at this point. As time progressed, the beyblade and bit-beasts were separated, making them less notable as a feature of the series. By Beyblade: G-Revolution they had become more of a background effect in the anime and were barely referenced at all in the anime for that season. After 2003, most Beyblades would lack on entirely on the beyblades themselves. The franchise focused more on the Blades and Bladers and almost completely abandoned the idea of both being influenced from mystical spirits. 2003-2016 thumb|right|[[Driger MS, though it also had a version with Driger on its "bit-protector" supplied in the box, it was the Hard Metal System that marked the end of Bit-beasts on Beyblades]] By the end of the original Beyblade series, the pictures of the bit beasts were changed to just symbols representing the beasts. These symbols had often appeared on decorations on the beyblades since the 2000 era, but had only been decorations that sat next to the name of the Beyblade. While the anime ended before the manga reached this point, even the main characters were seen with this style of bit on their Beyblades by the end of the manga. This tradition carries on even with the new beyblades. "Bit-Chips" themselves were replaced with a new style of circular bits called "Bit-protectors". Strange visions of Bit Beast like characters appear in the Metal Saga, Beyblade Burst, Beywarriors: BeyRaiderz, and BeyWheelz during battles, but aren't acknowledged by the characters or referred to as Bit Beasts. Like bit-beasts before them, they likely represent the "fighting spirit" of the blader. In addition rules for the real Beyblade game were also altered, removing the rules for bits being knocked off or destroy entirely. This meant players could no longer use these methods to gain points. Bakuten Shoot Beyblade: Rising (2016) The return of the Bakuten Shoot Beyblade: Rising manga series saw the return of beyblades featuring the Bit-beasts on them. A tie-in with the manga, some of the older Beyblades, such as Dragoon Storm, were re-released, modelled on the new Burst System Beyblades. These re-makes bore their original counterparts Bit-chip sticker on them (minus the original Beyblade Fighting Tournament codes of course), officially seeing the return of Bit-beasts to the franchise. Despite returning to the franchise, rules related to the bits still are absent in Burst System Beyblades. Other Other then the main series of Bakuten Shoot Beyblade, they also appear in Beyblade Battle Saint Lolita, which was one of the spin-off books. The manga span two complete volumes and was female based rather then male. Due to its more female audience influences, the Bit-beasts had a different role. The Beast emerged due to the appearance of a dark beast that was taking over bladers and Bit-beasts, it controlled both to fight. The 4 sacred beasts Dragoon, Dranzer, Driger and Draceil also emerge to help fight the dark beast. In this version, the beast could all talk and though were bound to their blades, able to appear outside of them. They had emotions and valued the friendships of their own kind as well as their Bladers friendships with each other. They could be infused with power by their Blader's in battle, with the Beyblade acting as a focusing point. In the Bakuten Shoot Beyblade movie, Dark Dragoon is seen talking. Once the kids are taken over by the Dark Beasts, they used the kids to talk through them. Dragoon also talks at one point to Tyson to reassure him. List of Bit-Beasts See here for more information. Trivia *Despite the Beyblade franchise being Japanese most, if not all, of the bit-beasts are named after non-Japanese words. *Excluding the Cyber Bit-Beasts, since they are man-made, alternative versions of Bit-Beasts have been seen in the Anime: Black Dranzer, Metal Driger and Strata Dragoon. These are call backs to the 2000 period and Beyblade Fighting Tournament Bit-beasts. **Thunder Pegasus and Torch Pegasus are also variants of the original "Pegasus" Bit used in Bakuten Shoot Beyblade - Gekitou! Saikyou Blader. While the Beyblade "Pegasus" was never released, the sticker for its bit was. *There is a recurring theme in the Anime where Bit-Beasts from the same team start with the same prefix or end with the same suffix: **Bladebreakers (Four Sacred Bit-Beasts): start with Dr-'' ***All 4 bit beasts of the team get their name from "dragon" and a WW2 military unit. The military units they are named after are the British Dragoon, the German Panzer tank unit, the Tiger Force battalion, and the U.S. Navy Seals. The "Dra" or "Dr" comes from Tyson and Kai's original bit-beasts, which are both dragons - Spin Dragoon and Ultimate Frostic Dranzer, when Ray and Max were added their bit-beasts continued to the tradition. Kai's bit-beast was swapped to a phoenix after Jisedai Begoma Battle Beyblade while Tyson's remained a dragon. While "Dra" was always intended, the military units was just a theme that formed during further development when Driger and Draciel were added and was created to give the 4 bit-beasts a overall common theme. **White Tigers: starts with ''Gal-''. ***All bit-beasts are fanged animals, keeping in with name of their clan of "fang". **All Starz: starts with ''Try-. ***"Try" comes from "Triathlon" and their bit-beasts are references to famous logos used within sports, the most obvious being Trygator which is a reference to Lacoste. **Majestics: ends with ''-lyon''. ***The teams bit-beasts are all based on heraldic animals. "lyon" comes from the word "battalion". **Demolition Boys: ends with ''-borg''. ***Tala's bit-beast represents Russia, while the other 3 represents "land", "Sea" and "air". The reference is how land, sea and air are all cold in Russia. "borg" refers to "cyborg" the short hand for "Cybernetic Organism", implying all of their bit-beasts are cyborgs. **Dark Bladers: ends with ''-lor''. ***Their 4 bit-beasts are all based on old black and white movie monsters; Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy and Werewolf *Bladers changing their bit beasts; **Daichi's Bit-beast was not Strata Dragoon in the early video games, but as a cyborg-esque Dragoon instead. **Takao's Dragoon appears in both manga and anime as the image of Master Dragoon when first introduced, it became Dragon once it entered the beyblade. **In the Jisedai Begoma Battle Beyblade Kai, Takao and Hiro Granger (as Jin) are shown using several different bits. Though Takao's is based on player choice. **Tyson also used Dranzer after his Dragoon was defeated in the original series and was even able to summon Dranzer himself. *Dizzi was a bit-beast added to the English dub. She took over much of the dialogue Kenny was suppose to have. It was the same as how the commentators AJ Topper & Brad Best were introduced, taking away some of Blader DJ's dialogue. She was removed in G-Revolution due to the fact Kenny was less reliant on his computer, giving less options for the dubbers to put her in. However, because of Dizzi, Kenny's Bit on his Beyblade illustration in G-Revolution was removed to prevent confusion. Category:First Generation Category:Original Series Category:Terminology Category:Bakuten Shoot Beyblade Category:Beyblade: 2000 Category:Beyblade: V-Force Category:Beyblade: G-Revolution